The Intentions

Chapter 22: Flashbacks Part 1

I had heard stories on the news about what happened to victims of kidnap. They end up brutally murdered or raped or both. Some are taken as children and are missing for years into their adult life.

The majority are never seen again. Most found are found dead. It was rare you ever saw a missing kid come back alive.

I didn't want to be the kid found dead or the kid who never saw home again.

I wanted to be a survivor but I wasn't going to be. With my cowardice and the brute of a man upstairs that had stripped me of any happiness I had left coupled with the statistics of kidnapped kids returning home alive- I soon figured I wasn't even getting out of this and neither was Beth.

I took in a shaky breath and closed my eyes just as a commotion above us broke out.

"NO! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!" I heard a shrill, feminine scream demand.

There was a series of heavy thumping and the sound of breaking glass before the door was flung open.

I shrunk back, the tears immediately falling as I recognized my kidnapper in the doorway.

In his arms was the weakly struggling body of another girl. Her limbs flailed until her elbow collided with his face.

His usual calm demeanor instantly changed to a gruff anger. Without warning, he flung her thin body down the steps roughly. 

She only cried out once. The first step must have rendered her unconscious, though that didn't stop her limp body from slamming into each stop before coming to a sudden stop on the concrete. Her head slammed into the concrete, making a loud crack! sound. 

Upon watching this, my kidnapper switched back to his calm demeanor and slowly descended the steps, pulling rope from his business suit pocket. He smoothed his hair down as he reached her unconscious body and proceeded to tie her wrists behind her back and bind her ankles.

I silently cried as the scene played out, pressing myself against the far wall and holding my breath so I wouldn't sniffle.

When he finished, he left her body at the foot of the stairs and slowly made his way back into the house.

I looked to Beth as the deadbolt shifted into place. "I-is she ok?" I stuttered out,  wishing I could wipe my tears away.

Beth shrugged, an unreadable expression planted on her face.

I looked back to the passed out girl and decided it best to check on her. No one else would.

Pushing away from the wall with my own bound hands, I began to slowly waddle towards her on my knees.

What if she wasn't unconscious?

"You ok?" I found myself calling out to her without thinking. My voice sounded soft as always.

The girl didn't stir at all. Her long, brown hair covered her face like an old mop and her limbs, though bound, looked sickly and bruised. 

I sat back on my heels, watching her chest to see if it rose or fell. 

It felt like an eternity passed before I finally managed to catch the slight rise in her rib cage that was proof of her small breaths.

I exhaled a little but didn't move, afraid of what I'd see.

"Is she alive?" I heard Beth's voice ask from behind me. 

I didn't reply. I only stared at the girl in front of me, the only thought occurring to me over and over being how bad of a situation I was in. I didn't belong here. I shouldn't be tied up in a basement staring at a girl I don't know to make sure she's alive. I shouldn't have been plucked from the street effortlessly. I shouldn't be alone with a quiet girl, desperately holding onto communication with this stranger so I don't lose my mind.

A heavy breath snapped me out of my disassociation and I jumped a little, refocusing on the new stranger.

She stirred and rolled onto her back, though her eyes remained closed.

The hair fell from her face and a wave of nausea swept over me. 

Blood cascaded from her hairline and left cheekbone and her nose was most definitely broken since it stuck to the left side of her face, a stream of blood also filtering into her mouth.

I scrambled backwards as best I could, my heart hammering in my chest. 

I shouldn't have to see that.  I should see that when playing a sport; not because she had just been abducted and thrown down a flight of stairs.

I ripped my gaze away from the girl and quickly faced the wall before I heard her voice- soft yet damaged- mumble the last thing I wanted to hear at the moment.

"Don't leave me."

Leave? That's all I wanted to do at this point! I wish I could leave. I wish I could get away and never look at her broken face again.

I couldn't, though. I was stuck down here and so was she. She was probably as terrified as I have been this past month. How cruel would I be if I left her to be scared like Beth had done to me?

I took a deep breath before closing my eyes and turning back around.

"Why are your eyes closed?" I heard the stranger's voice echo through the nearly empty room.

Because I don't want to look at you. I thought to myself, but I opened my eyes anyway, taking in her appearance.

We both gasped at each other and jumped away in horror.

It was quite surprise to meet Beth, another green eyed individual. You almost never came across someone with green eyes.

Yet, here in front of me was a third brunette, teenage girl with green eyes.

And she noticed it too. 

"I'm Kaila," I blurted out without thinking. I would have felt bad but I needed to know her name. I needed to know why we all resembled each other. So I looked at her expectantly.

She hesitated, looking both Beth and I over and taking a deep breath. "I'm Jenna."